NEW ORLEANS – The Sun Belt Conference released its 2024 Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll on Wednesday and Old Dominion has been picked to finish sixth. The Poll was voted on by the league's 14 head coaches.
The Monarchs garnered 115 points and are entering their second season in the conference after having been a previous member from 1983-91. The 2023 season saw ODU enter the Sun Belt Championship as the No. 10 seed and finish with a 32-23 overall record and a 15-15 mark in league play. Hunter Fitz-Gerald and Sam Armstrong were named to the All-Conference First and Second Teams, respectively, and Ben Moore was named a Second Team Freshman All-American by Perfect Game. The Monarchs also became the first NCAA Division I program to hit 100 home runs in a season in three straight years since the start of the BBCOR era in 2011.
Coastal Carolina is the preseason favorite to win the league after receiving 12 of the 14 first-place votes and 193 total points. Southern Miss was chosen second with 173 points, and Troy is third with 164 points. Louisiana received the other two first-place votes and came in fourth with 159 points and Texas State was other team selected ahead of the Monarchs, landing in fifth with 138 points.
Louisiana's Kyle DeBarge was selected as the Preseason Player of the Year and Troy's Grayson Stewart was voted Preseason Pitcher of the Year.
The Monarchs open their season at home as they host George Washington for a three-game series at The Bud on Feb. 16-18. ODU's season opener is scheduled for a 3 p.m. start. Game Two in the series will begin at 2 p.m. and the final game will feature a 1 p.m. first pitch.
Sun Belt Conference Preseason Poll (first place votes in parentheses)
1. Coastal Carolina (12) – 193
2. Southern Miss – 173
3. Troy – 164
4. Louisiana (2) – 159
5. Texas State – 138
6. Old Dominion – 115
7. Georgia Southern – 99
8. South Alabama – 98
9. App State – 82
10. James Madison – 79
11. Georgia State – 78
12. Marshall – 34
13. ULM – 33
14. Arkansas State – 25
Preseason Player of the Year
Kyle DeBarge, Louisiana (Junior, SS – Kinder, La.)
Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Grayson Stewart, Troy (Junior, SP – Dothan, Ala.)
Preseason All-Conference
Niko Mazza, Southern Miss (Jr., SP – Madison, Miss.)
Billy Oldham, Southern Miss (Sr., SP – Brookfield, Conn.)
Grayson Stewart, Troy (Jr., SP – Dothan, Ala.)
Noah Manning, Troy (Sr., RP – Minooka, Ill.)
Caden Bodine, Coastal Carolina (So., C – Haddon Heights, N.J.)
Zack Beach, Coastal Carolina (Gr., 1B – Mechanicsville, Va.)
Chase Mora, Texas State (So., 2B – Tomball, Texas)
Kyle DeBarge, Louisiana (Jr., SS – Kinder, La.)
Jarrett Brown, Georgia Southern (Sr., 3B – Savannah, Ga.)
CJ Boyd, App State (Sr., OF – Lewisville, N.C.)
Fenwick Trimble, James Madison (Jr., OF – Virginia Beach, Va.)
Shane Lewis, Troy (Jr., OF – Vicksburg, Miss.)
Derek Bender, Coastal Carolina (Jr., DH – Murrells Inlet, S.C.)
Sam Blancato, Georgia Southern (RS Sr., UT – Marietta, Ga.)
Voucher Books!
The 2024 Old Dominion Baseball voucher book is available for sale online at odusports.com/tickets. For just $50, fans get 25 tickets that can be used for any regular season home game played at the Bud Metheny Baseball Stadium. Single-game tickets can also be purchased for $5.
Click here to purchase the 2024 ODU Baseball voucher book.
Commonwealth Classic
The Monarchs will host Virginia in the Commonwealth Classic, scheduled for Tuesday, April 16 at Harbor Park beginning at 6:05 p.m. General admission tickets are on sale now at $10 each and can be purchased here.
ODU Baseball Picked to Finish Sixth in the Sun Belt
